FILE - This Aug. 6, 2013 file photo shows President Barack Obama talking with Jay Leno during a commercial break during the taping of his appearance on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” in Los Angeles. President Barack Obama is wishing Leno well as he prepares to say farewell to “The Tonight Show” on Thursday. Obama spokesman Jay Carney says Obama is a Leno fan and has enjoyed his many appearances with the late-night comedian in his Burbank, Calif., studio. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — The Tonight Show returned to New York this week, ending its four decades stop on the West Coast.

New host Jimmy Fallon is a New Yorker who says he wants the excitement of the nation’s largest city to permeate his show. But there’s another key reason for the show’s return home: an unconventional New York State tax credit that could potentially save NBC more than $20 million a year.

The language of the 30 percent credit is remarkably specific, applying to shows that film in front of a studio audience and spent at least five years elsewhere.

NBC says it helped make the move possible. Similar credits have helped TV and movie productions thrive in the state but experts are divided about whether it’s worth it.

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